Standard newspaper journos gets bail

Two journalists and an the human resources manager from The Standard newspapers, a Zimbabwean weekly, were released on bail Friday, two days after their arrest over a story that called a police officer "notorious", their lawyer said.

The Standard editor Nevanji Madanhire, reporter Patience Nyangove and human resources director Loud Ramakgapola were charged with criminal defamation and publishing statements which undermine public confidence in the police force.

"The court granted free bail for Nyangove and the company representative and $100 (70 euros) for Madanhire with a condition to report once every two weeks to the police," lawyer Linda Cook told AFP.

The charges follow a story published by The Standard about the arrest of Jameson Timba, a top aide of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The story described the police who arrested Timba as "notorious".

Timba, the minister of state in the prime minister's office, was arrested last week for calling veteran President Robert Mugabe a liar.

A judge ruled that he had been wrongfully detained and released him.

Media in Zimbabwe have operated under stringent rules over the last decade, with several newspapers forced to shut down while journalists and foreign correspondents have been deported and harassed by the police.

Tsvangirai has vowed to abolish the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which bans foreign journalists from working permanently in the country.

The 2002 act forced media organisations and journalists to register with a government body and has been invoked to arrest independent journalists.